photography

soooo i really, really want a camera..a nice one that you can change the lenses on.  ideally, i'd like to learn how to take really fun, cool pictures and have a photography business..kind of "on the side".  i know this requires a lot of "upfront costs" so this may start out as a process for a little bit.  i have spent a lot of time looking at people's websites and getting ideas of the types of things i am interested in..but i need to know a little about cameras and how to take cool pictures.  i played with my dad's camera in february and had a lot of fun with it.  i took some pretty awesome pictures, by accident, so i am confident i will learn quickly.  any encouragement would be greatly appreciated.  :)